coasterbill

See, I feel like the ride is totally reopening with as-few changes as possible. I feel like they’ll change almost nothing and just check the flag plates more often / change some small thing about how they’re affixed and just let everyone think that they spent a year and a half working around the clock on a bunch of major changes.

Why is everyone talking about major changes to the launch when the launch had nothing to do with the accident?

The same thing that has kept this project from dying since it started in 2002... taxpayer bailouts.

They've cut hours mostly chain-wide. It's financial. Texas being surface-of-the-sun hot is not new.

I don’t think it can stall at the top, but it’s more likely to roll back, yes.

It's basically this. It's scheduled to open with and close with the park but it's Kingda Ka. Also, the first bit of the day it might be "open" but it won't look open because they won't launch a train until it's full so 20 minute dispatch times are common considering the park has been empty all year.

So we rode the hamster wheel thing last night. It's pretty awful. It didn’t really hurt because it was so padded by the massive gross restraints that you need to squeeze your head into that are covered in hair gel and sweat from the last people that rode it but it was so stupid and awkward. I love the concept but it's just executed in the jankiest way. I forgot how much I hate everything about the Seaside Heights experience.

A few other things to note: 1) The park has the worst weather policies that I've ever seen. What Joe said to do is exactly what you should do in normal circumstances, but if it's mildly breezy or might drizzle later then you need to unfortunately prioritize Candymonium and Skyrush even though they will have massive lines in the morning. Farenheit will also close in like a million stupid weather situations because it's located at Hersheypark and that's how they roll. 2) I get the idea that you're looking to go-go-go all day but food lines suck almost everywhere and the Chocolatier is seriously really great. I really recommend eating there if you don't mind doing a sit-down meal. They're on OpenTable so you can make a reservation. The outdoor patio rules also.

... and we laughed and laughed

They're doing it because the chain as-a-whole is having a horrendous year. It's possible that Fiesta is one of the rare exceptions, it's also possible that they're hoping for crowds when the new coaster opens and it's also possible that Fiesta's "quality bubble" is just holding strong.

Wow, I missed a lot in this thread. That was a fun experience. It’s fun watching so many professional engineers talk shop. As for the teaser, teaser campaigns aren’t really my thing but I hope the new thing coming to Wildwood Grove is trees because that entire area is absolutely hideous.

It’s seriously like this every single day now…

People should go into Busch Gardens Tampa acting as if Falcon's Fury is simply a very large telephone pole. It's a mirage. It's a figment of your imagination. That way, when it's closed they won't be upset about it. I feel like it's down on at-least half of our visits.

The amount of times that I've seen them fix Nitro by banging on the transfer track with a wrench and leaving is impressive. Maybe it's the coaster version of unplugging a router and plugging it back in.

Matugani merch is out and... lol

One thing about this park that may play a role is that they're 15-20 minutes from a major competitor that keeps investing heavily in new rides and offerings. They can't really sit back and do nothing the same way they can in a lot of other markets. Even in Southern California, Magic Mountain is a solid hour away from meaningful competition with LA traffic.

What's weird about Great Adventure is that it's probably the only park that really did improve the experience this year. They added that, painted 2 coasters (they never even paint one) and didn't get rid of Holiday in the Park. Most parks got a price increase, an operating season that's 2 months shorter and maybe a single rider line that's never used. ... it still couldn't be less of a premium experience if it tried.

Like I said though, people have to drive to every other park too. The fact that they're willing to do so for other parks and not for Six Flags should be incredibly concerning for Six Flags.

Agreed. As inversions go, I always find normal vertical loops to be some of the least interesting. They're never really a highlight of any ride for me, aside from every single Schwarzkopf loop. They're still the best-designed loops ever. This is concerning.

You're not wrong but Hersheypark is located near a bunch of corn and cow shit and they're bursting at the seams so Six Flags does need to come up with a way to spin that one.

Every non-Six Flags park in the area seems to be doing just fine, but Great Adventure and (to a lesser extent) New England are hurting this year. I don’t know why, but it’s hard not to assume that some of the changes this year with the passes / dining plans and general price increases at-least play a role. I really didn’t expect them to since they were still positioned as the cheapest chain but I don’t really know what else it could be.

Sorry for the double post, but this is actually big news. Nick Universe is now letting you pay per ride, which is great news for everyone who wants to go back and ride the 2-3 coasters that were broken on their last visit but doesn't want to pay full admission again! They call it a "Points Pass" but basically it's just a pay-per-ride system. The only thing that's weird is that it works with wristband and not a card or actual tickets so it seems like everyone needs their own points pass. Kids rides start at $6.99. Adult rides and coasters (if you can find any that aren't broken) start at $9.99 but realistically nobody is going to pay that much for a kids ride and the more points you buy, the price per point drops as you would expect. All rides are either 3 points or 6 points. This is apparently not valid on Saturdays or Holidays. Also, note that every adult coaster except for the spinner is currently broken per usual so don't go rushing out there. Oh, and points expire after 90 days. Link

The park has started making some cuts to operating hours. All Summer 10pm closes are now 9pm closes. I'd honestly expect more and more of this as the park has been a complete ghost town all year.

It should be noted that a “Season Pass” doesn’t mean what most people think that it means. It means that it’s good for the Summer season with mystery restrictions. It’s $139 for a pass that’s good from July 1st through September 30th and subject to blackout dates, though they won’t tell you what those blackout dates are. This means that if they offer this for each season assuming price point remains the same, an annual pass is $556 and has blackout dates, making it the most expensive annual pass for any park in America with blackout dates that’s currently offered for sale. I’d actually be excited to buy this if they offer it for Q1, but also how are you going to sell a pass with blackout dates and not tell people what they are?